Build It: Home Linux Server

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It’s been some time coming. Your home network, a hodge-podge of peer-to-peer machines is finally crying out for a nerve center where files live, and services are at the ready — a machine that will dutifully keep it all going 24/7 with minimal fuss, and grow with you as your needs get more sophisticated. Linux continues to gain ground in the enterprise server space, with champions in IBM, Sun and HP. It has proven its mettle driving big iron, but is equally well-suited and versatile enough to power your home server.

For less than $1,200, you can build a very capable server with gobs of storage and enough processing horsepower to pull multiple duties serving up a printer queue, web pages, FTP, DHCP, and SAMBA, and more. And, if you’ve got some old parts to scavenge, and are working within a tight budget, you can still put together a solid server for under $600. So here’s how to build out the heart and soul of your home network, the home server. Or, if you’ve got an old box you’re looking to put out to pasture, it can be turned into a serviceable home server with a few spot upgrades.

While any one of these paths will get you a working server, let’s start out by analyzing the server we built from parts, and then compare it to other alternatives, so you can decide which path is right for you.

The first part of this article details what parts, including the Linux distro, we selected to go into our homebrew Linux Server, you can find all the details starting with our Bill Of Materials section. Next we benchmarked our server against an older Dell desktop we had sitting around  to see whether it makes more sense to recycle an older desktop, or build your own server. Those results start in the Benchmarks section. Finally we wrap up with our conclusions and recommendations  whether to Build, Buy or Recycle.